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Disney Studios announces 30 catalogue releases laid out over the rest of the year

Further Details:
Disney dropped a pretty big official announcement last night concerning 30 fan-favourites making their Blu-ray debut. There's no word on extras or specs yet, but here's the announcement quote:

Quote: To satisfy consumer demand and serve the growing base of Blu-ray™ households, The Walt Disney Studios today announced plans to add more than 30 popular and iconic films to its ever-expanding Blu-ray™ library. Each film selected for release has been fully digitally remastered, with dirt and anomalies cleaned to a pristine level, offering viewers optimum high definition picture and sound quality of some of their favorite films.

Beginning in May, the Studio will start to celebrate a number of film anniversaries, introducing multiple great films to Blu-ray including:

May 15th:

Father of the Bride

and

Bringing Down the House

.

June 5th:

The Color of Money

,

Cocktail

and

Ransom

.

June 19th:

Sister Act

and

Evita

.

July 3rd:

The Horse Whisperer

,

Under the Tuscan Sun

,

Phenomenon

,

Step Up

,

Home On The Range

and

Treasure Planet

.

Then in the fall, with non-specific release dates, Disney will release

Adventures in Babysitting

,

Grosse Pointe Blank

,

Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion

,

The Rescuers

,

High Fidelity

,

Ed Wood

,

Judge Dredd

,

Ghost of the Abyss 3D

,

Lady And The Tramp 2: Scamp’s Adventure

,

Pocahontas

,

The Tigger Movie

,

The Aristocats

and

Pete’s Dragon

.

Then in the final quarter of the year, again with no specific release dates, Disney will release

Hocus Pocus

,

Arachnophobia

,

The Hand That Rocks The Cradle

,

Son of Flubber

,

Cold Creek Manor

,

The Santa Clause Trilogy

,

The Absent-Minded Professor

,

Flubber

,

While You Were Sleeping

,

Sweet Home Alabama

,

Beaches

,

Babes in Toyland

,

Atlantis: The Lost Empire

,

Brother Bear

and (perhaps longest anticipated by fans)

Dick Tracy

.

Here's some low-res preview images. I've put in a request for bigger scans when they are made available:

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Gabe Powers wrote: Here's the thing, that Rocketeer release was bare-bones, but it was also a good looking HD transfer, which really should be enough reason for most fans to upgrade over the non-anamorphic DVD. In the US Judge Dredd, Adventures in Babysitting, The Horse Whisperer, Arachnophobia, Babes in Toyland, and Hocus Pocus are all non-anamophic, and others on this list look pretty s**tty in anamorphic SD. Hand That Rocks the Cradle was also non-anamorphic, so looking forward to that one. I'm still waiting for a decent price drop on Rocketeer before picking that up.

Movie Dude wrote: Let me clarify my comment about the "Rocketeer" Blu-ray. When I said "awful", I meant how they released it as a 20th Anniversary Edition and have a crisp, clear HD presentation and have the trailer be the only extra on it. That's what I meant by "awful". It wasn't about the HD quality.

Well said, that man. We bought the expensive CAV LaserDisc of The Rocketeer (which we still have in the vault somewhere) and the only extra you got with that was a c**ppy, full-frame trailer. It's this lack of additional material which has left us apathetic about picking up a copy. Sure, we all know that in the end, it's the movie that counts most, but with the price they put it out at, fans like to be kissed when they're being f***ed.

There was a really good 30 minute documentary put out for TV to promote Dick Tracy, and even if they just stuck this on the Blu-ray edition, it would go some way to placating those who want more than just the movie. We have a copy of this particular show in the archives somewhere, but God knows where we put it!

A lack of extras on a release from a big company like Disney reads as a lack-of-enthusiasm put into the product itself, and potential buyers get a vibe from this. Dick Tracy was one biggest released in 1990, a time that was offically dubbed: "The Summer of Blockbusters", therefore the Blu-ray needs enough care, attention and extras to try and recapture some of that excitement and let everyone know just how big the movie was at the time.

THE WILSON BROS

BTW, When we were filming on Hot Fuzz, we were two of Tim Dalton's Henchmen, and whilst wandering around between set-ups, the urge to quote the line "I want that rocket, Eddie..." whenever Tim would drift into view was really hard to resist!

Wilson Bros wrote: Warren Beatty has always wanted to re-cut Dick Tracy and make the more "adult" movie he originally intended. There are certain elements which - if removed - certainly change the tone, and he doubtless has few pieces of deleted material which he wants to restore, but it's unlikely that Disney will spring for the money to make it happen.

Dick Tracy was one of the most enjoyable movies of Summer 1990, and there was a lot of competition at the time. Have seen an HD broadcast of it, and looked pretty damned good, so you can only salivate at the prospect of a fully-restored Blu edition of it.

THE WILSON BROS

You know what Disney should do? They should re-visit their "Vista Series" DVD brand and have "Dick Tracy" be the first release in the series. Beatty can team up with Laurent Bouzereau to produce material on the film as well as consult on the film restoration to create a extended director's cut of the film. We're talking at least 8 hours of new bonus material.

Warren Beatty has always wanted to re-cut Dick Tracy and make the more "adult" movie he originally intended. There are certain elements which - if removed - certainly change the tone, and he doubtless has few pieces of deleted material which he wants to restore, but it's unlikely that Disney will spring for the money to make it happen.

Dick Tracy was one of the most enjoyable movies of Summer 1990, and there was a lot of competition at the time. Have seen an HD broadcast of it, and looked pretty damned good, so you can only salivate at the prospect of a fully-restored Blu edition of it.

Let me clarify my comment about the "Rocketeer" Blu-ray. When I said "awful", I meant how they released it as a 20th Anniversary Edition and have a crisp, clear HD presentation and have the trailer be the only extra on it. That's what I meant by "awful". It wasn't about the HD quality.

That's why I'm not fully excited about these big Disney Blu-ray releases because of the fear that they'll treat them the same way they treated the release of "The Rocketeer" (with the exception of "Newsies", which will carry over the extras from the DVD). Hopefully, Disney will give the rest of these releases the full-on special treatment they deserve.

I'm a sucker for all things picture quality, audio quality and decent bonus features, so if the right planets align, I'll buy some of these titles... until then, I'll keep my hopes pretty low. The Rocketeer's meager Blu-Ray edition taught me that much.

Here's the thing, that Rocketeer release was bare-bones, but it was also a good looking HD transfer, which really should be enough reason for most fans to upgrade over the non-anamorphic DVD. In the US Judge Dredd, Adventures in Babysitting, The Horse Whisperer, Arachnophobia, Babes in Toyland, and Hocus Pocus are all non-anamophic, and others on this list look pretty s**tty in anamorphic SD. Extras would be great, but image quality is the much bigger issue here.